A recent analysis of influenza vaccination uptake rates among health professionals has shown that a large proportion decide against being vaccinated. The national average for influenza vaccination rate for doctors, nurses and midwives is approximately …Many health professionals reject influenza vaccinations: Do they know something that you don’t?
A recent analysis of influenza vaccination uptake rates among health professionals has shown that a large proportion decide against being vaccinated. The national average for influenza vaccination rate for doctors, nurses and midwives is approximately 50%, according to the NZ Herald.[1]

“It’s a very interesting finding,” comments Katherine Smith, the spokeswoman for No Forced Vaccines, [2] an organisation formed earlier this year which upholds the right for people to make free and informed choices regarding vaccination for themselves and their children.

“It suggest that a large proportion of NZ health professionals think that the potential benefits of the vaccine are outweighed by the risks. Most likely health professionals are more aware than are the general public of rare but potentially devastating adverse effects that can occur following influenza vaccination, such as Guillan Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis.”[3]

Another possibility for the low influenza vaccination rate, Smith says, “could be that health professionals are aware of the research that shows that the effectiveness of influenza vaccines is poor.”[4]

Smith also suggested that health professionals may be choosing to use nutritional medicine to reduce their risk of developing influenza and other viral illnesses.

“A lot of health professionals will be aware of research showing that vitamin C supplements can reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections. There is also a lot of new research that shows that adequate levels of vitamin D help to protect against infections, including influenza [5] and also reduce the risk of developing some cancers.[6] [7] Given the choice between vaccines that have the potential to cause serious side effects and nutrients that can help optimise immune system function I wouldn’t be surprised if many health professionals are choosing the latter option.”

New Zealanders, Smith added, need to support the right of health professionals to be able to continue to make free and informed decisions about vaccination, especially when publications like the NZ Medical Journal have reportedly called for “mandatory” vaccination of for health professionals. The people who work so hard keeping our public health system running, she says, “do not deserve to be bullied into being vaccinated.”